In what is the second win for menstrual justice in Pakistan this month, Bushra Mahnoor, the founder of the period education and welfare organisation Mahwari Justice, has been given the Commonwealth Youth Award for Asia.
Mahnoor is the fourth Pakistani to be granted the honour and only the second Pakistani woman. Her win comes six years after the last time Pakistan won, Mahwari Justice said in a press release.
The awards, which are meant to celebrate young people’s contributions to development, are given out annually. One winner is selected from each of the five participating geographical regions and out of the five winners one is named Young Person of the Year.
As a regional winner, Mahnoor will receive a grant of £3,000 to help her organisation achieve its objectives. The Young Person of the Year — Ugandan solar-energy pioneer Shifra Ainomugisha for 2026 — will receive £5,000.
Mahnoor’s Mahwari Justice has made it a mission to spread awareness and education on menstrual issues and improve access to care for menstruating women.
The organisation was founded in 2022 in response to devastating floods and focused initially on providing feminine hygiene kits to flood-hit communities.
Since then, Mahnoor has worked on period education, developing a disability-inclusive guide on menstruation and having it translated into braille. The guide is now being produced in sign language.
She was also a strong advocate for the removal of taxes on feminine hygiene products, mobilising 10,000 signatures for the cause.
Her efforts and those of legal activists like Mahnoor Omer and Alisha Shabbir came to fruition earlier this month when taxes were withdrawn as part of the Federal Budget 2026-27 .
